business@tribunemedia.net
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
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Fidelity: We won’t join ‘folly’ of risky lending BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BISX-LISTED bank has pledged it will not join the “folly” of its rivals by pursuing unsafe loans with its chief executive yesterday predicting that the Bahamian mortgage market will take another two years to recover to pre-COVID levels. Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, yesterday told Tribune Business that multiple deep-rooted “structural
Mortgage credit likely to need two more years to recover to pre-COVID
BISX-listed bank chief: Deep-rooted ‘structural issues’ must be resolved’
Rushing home loan growth akin to ‘gambling with other people’s money’
issues” continue to hold back mortgage lending and, by extension, increased home ownership, construction, renovations and other productive economic
activities associated with the housing market. Speaking after the institution, in its 2025 annual report released just ahead of tomorrow’s
annual general meeting (AGM), revealed that total outstanding Bahamian mortgage credit at year-end 2025 was still almost $77m below the $2.63bn mark hit
‘Congestion’ fears over 25slip marina near Potter’s Cay BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE ASSOCIATION of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president yesterday voiced concern that a new 25-boat slip marina to be located just west of Potter’s Cay will create “over congestion” in
both Nassau Harbour and for road-based traffic. Peter Maury spoke out after it was revealed that Blu Cay Ltd is seeking environmental and other permits to proceed with the development of a marina and 50-space dry storage facility for jet skis and other watercraft.
Total Trump tariff crawfish exemption likely ‘long shot’ BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FISHERIES executive yesterday conceded it will be “a long shot” to get Bahamian lobster and stone crab exports totally exempted from Donald Trump’s 12.5 percent tariff but praised the Government’s bid to have the rate lowered as a “more realistic” goal. Adrian LaRoda, president of The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA), told Tribune Business that he was “excited and encouraged” that the Davis administration is “taking a stand” to address the increased taxation being imposed on exports to the US based on its initial response to the tariff’s imposition at 12.01am on Friday, July 24. Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, on Friday unveiled a three-pronged approach the Government plans to take in persuading the US to either completely remove, or lower, the 12.5 percent tariff rate on The Bahamas’ seafood exports. The first involves lobbying for a complete exemption for Bahamian crawfish and stone crab exports, with the former typically generating between $50m-$60m in annual sales and representing a valuable source of foreign currency earnings. The second element involves persuading the Trump administration to reduce the tariff rate on Bahamian exports from 12.5 percent to at least 10 percent by showing this nation has taken action to ban the importation of goods made by forced labour - the very rationale that the US has used to justify the imposition of such levies on this country and 59 others. The Bahamas, through reforms to the Customs Management Act that were passed prior to end-June 2026, imposed such a ban on forced labour goods. Six other countries now face the lower 10 percent tariff on their
FISH - See Page B4
GOWON BOWE
six years previously, he identified the growth obstacles as including a lack of qualified borrowers, stagnant incomes and wages, a workforce yet to expand beyond pre-COVID numbers, and the overhang of distressed properties banks are unable to offload. Given such an environment, Mr Bowe told this newspaper that
CREDIT - See Page B4
ABM chief voices concern for Nassau Harbour and road traffic Developer proposing 50-space dry storage facility for jet skis
BLU CAY MARINA PROJECT CONCEPTUAL PLAN The plans also include an office building featuring a cafe plus on-site parking, with the project set to be located between the harbourtfront Water & Sewerage Corporation facility and Potter’s Cay, west of McKenzie’s. It will
be opposite the East Bay Street shopping centre. “The proposed works include the construction and operation of a 25-slip marina, a 50-space dry storage area for personal watercraft (jet skis), and an associated multi-purpose
Port Lucaya buyer: End work halt over ‘immediate danger’ BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE PORT Lucaya Marina’s purchaser yesterday argued that the “immediate danger” posed by the property’s
“life-threatening conditions” must take priority over the administrative procedures it says regulators are citing for imposing a ‘stop work’ order on its demolition. Bahama Land Waterways, which is owned by Port Lucaya
Port defends work halt at Port Lucaya Marina By BARBARA WALKIN barefootmarketing.net FREEPORT regulators yesterday defended the decision to halt the demolition of the Port Lucaya Marina’s docks, the first phase in a $21.8m redevelopment project, because the new owner has yet to comply with required processes and procedures. The controversy erupted after crews began removing the deteriorated docks on July 23, only to stop the next day after the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) issued a stop work order, prompting allegations that unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles were delaying a project many residents see as critical to revitalising Port Lucaya. But Troy McIntosh, the GBPA deputy director and city manager,
Project to be located between Potter’s Cay, Water & Sewerage office building,” an environmental study by Bahamian consultancy, JSS Consulting, revealed. “The office building will consist of administrative offices, public restrooms and a café to serve marina users and visitors. The development
Marketplace proprietor, Peter Hunt, and his business partner, Shmuel Herschkowitz, in a formal notice sent to the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) co-chairs, Rupert Hayward and Sarah St George, demanded that the ‘stop work’ order be removed with “immediate” effect and signalled that legal action is likely unless the impasse is swiftly resolved. And, warning of the economic fall-out, they wrote that Port Lucaya Marketplace will be unable to “sustain its longterm operations” without a
yesterday said the halt was not an attempt to block development but, rather, the enforcement of long-standing permit requirements designed to protect public safety and ensure legal compliance. He said the developers first approached the GBPA months earlier seeking permission to demolish the marina's aging docks but, because the facility sits on land leased from the Grand Bahama Development Company (DEVCO), demolition could not legally proceed without written authorisation from the latter as landlord. “Our responsibility as the regulator is to ensure all required documentation is in place before permits are issued,” Mr McIntosh said. He compared the process to a tenant making renovations to a rented apartment. “If you’re renting an apartment, you can’t undertake major work without the landlord’s approval. The same principle applies here,” Mr McIntosh said. He added that GBPA staff spent weeks working with the applicants, exchanging
PERMIT - See Page B6
will also include an on-site parking facility to accommodate staff and patrons.” Blu Cay Ltd’s shareholders and owners are not disclosed in corporate records held by the
DEVELOP - See Page B5
revived Port Lucaya Marina to drive visitor traffic and access. The Marketplace, Bahama Land Waterways added, has seen its occupancy decline to about 50 percent while “rental rates have not been increased for more than 12 years”. However, the GBPA and its Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO) affiliate, the latter of whom is the Port Lucaya Marina landlord, yesterday denied that they are unnecessarily or unduly
DEMOLISH - See Page B5